Apple has third party lightning adapters removed from ebay!

[gsugolfer]

Originally Posted by zhenya

Changing to micro-USB would be a MAJOR step backwards in functionality, plus it's a poor design that has a minimum level of durability.

Yes, its a bummer they are changing designs, but I understand why it was necessary for future improvements. The chip in the new cable is necessary to allow it to be plugged in in either orientation (one of the big complaints of the old design, and USB for that matter.) The benefits far outweigh the downsides.

Moving to a standard is a step BACKWARDS.

Now that's an Apple guy for you.

[mcdj]

There are more ways to profit than just by stifiling consumer choice.

If this is a sign that Apple intends to force 3rd party accessory makers to license the lightning adapter for every accessory, then we are going to see a lot less choices in the accessory market, and a lot of smaller current accessory makers will be forced to close. It will also mean accessories will become more expensive across the board, as we're already seeing with the $20 cable that doesn't even include the wall plug.

This policy might be great for Apple's immediate bottom line, but, like other bean counter driven decisions made by Apple lately, this will eventually work to dissolve the cult status of Apple, and that will do far more harm to the bottom line than allowing a free market for accessories ever could.

3rd party accessory makers don't hurt Apple, they BOOST Apple. How Apple doesn't see this as plain as day is beyond me. They allow people to spend the bulk of their money with Apple, while allowing them to save a little on accessories. If every accessory maker pays a license fee to Apple, accessory prices are going to skyrocket, and the entire 3rd party Apple ecosystem will see a downturn, thereby shrinking Apple's reach as a brand entity. It would seem Apple no longer sees themselves holistically.

Apple under Steve Jobs seemed unstoppable. But every empire crumbles eventually, little by little. If Apple intends to keep churning out product at breakneck speed in the name of profit, continues to systematically lock down every aspect of their consumer's choices and experiences in the name of profit, and continues to disregard the previous ingredients of its cult status, then little by little, we are witnessing the dawn of Apple's eventual fall.

When it does happen, people will struggle to figure out why, because their demise will be made of so many little reasons, like changing the adapter to their biggest selling product to a proprietary licensed model.

[zhenya]

Originally Posted by gsugolfer

Moving to a standard is a step BACKWARDS.

Now that's an Apple guy for you.

Yes, moving to a standard that has markedly less functionality than Apples own connector would be a step backwards. I'll gladly take everything that their connector offers over the limitations of USB.

[ZipZap]

I ordered 1 from three different sellers. So far only one cancelled because the seller said they would not be able to get stock until late november.

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Originally Posted by NewYorkRanger

Apple did you a favour - those knock off might work but not for long. And who knows what damage it could do.

This is a quick buck scam by Chinese counterfeiters.

Have always bough the knock-off with ZERO problems. Even one of my rMBP power adapters is a knock-off.

You do not speak from experience just speculation.

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Originally Posted by leenak

You may want to read the other thread talking about how third party adapters have been shorting out the lightning port. Not a good idea to use I'd say

What third party adapters....No one has them.

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Can someone point me to a site or article covering these custom chips?

[TC25]

Originally Posted by illutionz

look at how our financial institution has sprawl into a mess that we are in today. Why the hell do we need our banks to chop and repackage our MBS into pieces? They did it because it was the most profitable thing to do and they need to keep their profits up.

Try learning some facts before posting. The banks were forced, by the US govt, to make loans to people who couldn't afford them. So, they repackaged them and sold them based solely on the projected revenue flow, which had very little chance of happening. When there were no more suckers, the collapse happened. Trace the problem to its source instead of simply blaming the last entity to handle the piece of crap. What would YOU do if you were told to loan money to someone you knew couldn't pay it back?

[NT1440]

Originally Posted by jrbdmb

Well, we don't really know that yet ... will a non-chipped knock off at least allow charging? All we know for now is that Apple will fight to make customers pay $20 to $40 for what should be a $1 cable.

With the engineering that went into the cable, there is no way its value is $1. Certainly not the $40 they charge, but it is an incredible piece of engineering (thing about how small transistors and resisters are getting to allow for that much tech in a friggin cable ).

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Originally Posted by ZipZap

Have always bough the knock-off with ZERO problems. Even one of my rMBP power adapters is a knock-off.

You do not speak from experience just speculation.[COLOR="#808080"]

You've never owned a product that dynamically changes its pin out structure, have you?

Oh wait, thats because THIS IS THE FIRST APPLE DEVICE TO DO SO. EVER.

Your macbook pro is only passing power along the line, of course a 3rd party accessory will do that. This cable does far, far more and it changes depending on the device.

This is far more complex than a power cable, and no third parties could possibly have figured out a solution to do dynamic switching on the iPhone 5 yet.

In short, you have no idea what you are talking about.

[pragmatous]

Probably removed because every single third party adaptor might blow up your iphone right now.

Originally Posted by ppdix

I bought 3 lightning to 30-pin adapters on ebay...
I got this email from the seller today:

Thank you for your purchase of your Lightning Adapter

There has been some confusion with an email that eBay has sent to regarding this item. It was removed due to licensing but I assure you your sale and everyone else's sale is still active and you will be getting your adapter.

Please Disregard the eBay email as it does not apply to your transaction and disregard if I have already contacted you about this matter. Apple has reported every seller on eBay. Here is the email Apple sent me via eBay-


eBay sent this message to Vasilios Poulos (bp21golf).
Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay. Learn more.

MC999 eBay Listing Removed: Trademark Violation - Unauthorized Item (704489572)





Dear bp21golf (bp16golf@aol.com)

You recently listed the following listing:

200822120246 - 2 Apple iPhone 5 Lightning Adapter 30 pin i Phone iPod 7th Gen Plug iPhone5 USA


Your listing has been removed.

Your item was removed because of a request we received from Apple, Inc., a member of our Verified Rights Owner Program (VeRO), asking us to remove the item for:

- Item(s) is a counterfeit product which infringes the trademark owner's rights.

If you have additional questions or concerns on why your item was removed, please contact Apple, Inc. directly at:

apple_enforce@opsecsecurity.com

Please allow 7 days for Apple, Inc. to reply to you.


The email you have or will receive from eBay does not affect the standing of your order and your adapter (s) will be posted out as scheduled. This is Apples way of shutting everyone down to ensure they get the full price for these adapters

Cheers

bp21golf

Thanks for choosing us for your purchase!!!

[Senseotech]

Originally Posted by thewitt

Yes

Actually, no, no they don't, its all people going off one single person (that Double Helix cables tool) crying that the sky is falling. No one has their hands on a third party cable that I've seen, nor has anyone actually gone to the trouble of figuring out what that chip in the lightning cable really is, they all just scream "It has to be an authentication chip!!!"

[GoTexans]

third party mean copy/fake or licensed seller? if they are licensed seller from apple... it should not be removed. if its fake, I believe it the reason, it should be removed.

[rockyroad55]

Perhaps apple did you a favor. Lets say you did buy one of these cables. Your phone malfunctions upon plugging it in. Then the Genius Bar refuses to replace the phone because you used an unauthorized accessory.

[illutionz]

Originally Posted by TC25

Try learning some facts before posting. The banks were forced, by the US govt, to make loans to people who couldn't afford them. So, they repackaged them and sold them based solely on the projected revenue flow, which had very little chance of happening. When there were no more suckers, the collapse happened. Trace the problem to its source instead of simply blaming the last entity to handle the piece of crap. What would YOU do if you were told to loan money to someone you knew couldn't pay it back?

Ah yes of course blaming 1 side of the coin is always convenient. Everyone has their hands in the pot for our mortgage mess, the government, FHRA, Fannie/Freddit, All Banks and lending institution, borrowers (especially the subprime ones), Home builder, speculators, etc. Let's not forget that we are in this together and we have to pull through together as a nation. The problem is complex and there is no way around it. Trying to simplify the problem by focusing on 1 issue or party to blame is the easy way out but it won't be the right way to solve the problem.

In regards to the banks, don't give me that B.S where the tiny little banks are crying in the corner because they were being forced to make loans to people who can't afford it. Guess what, They... Like... It... Because these subprime loans make the most profits if and when the systems are working.

And please don't tell me that said bank lobbyists... this by the way is the same one which lobbied our congress and President to repeal Glass-Steagall Act in the early 90s and basically make a jambalaya of depositor money and their own prop-trading money, are now suddenly POWERLESS to lobby against subprime lending.

If they don't like it, they would've lobbied our government because guess what, special interest lobbyists are masters of the universe anyway. So the fact that they did not lobby against subprime, is because it only serves in their best interest (making profits). Again, when the whole system was working

Just my 2 cents.

Oh to get back to our topic, I finally gave up and purchased a cable from Apple site. Once Monoprice.com has them in stock, I will purchase some more from them. Don't really trust these ebay sellers.

[loskickking23]

I ordered one and eBay cancelled mine... The seller has still not responded to me

[mistertomlinson]

I ordered one days ago. Neither eBay nor the seller contacted me about the listing being pulled. I just happened to be perusing my purchase history when I noticed it. Hopefully I'll still get it.

You'd be a damned fool to pay $30 for an adapter. Frankly, I feel like they should have included an adapter with the first generation lightning docks. After sinking money into Apple accessories, customers should be shown a little loyalty.

[vong]

Thank god I did not order off e-Bay. They were selling for roughly $15 when I checked and Apple sells 'em for $20. I figured, heck only $5 more, might as well by the legit one.

[IllIllIll]

Originally Posted by mcdj

There are more ways to profit than just by stifiling consumer choice.

If this is a sign that Apple intends to force 3rd party accessory makers to license the lightning adapter for every accessory, then we are going to see a lot less choices in the accessory market, and a lot of smaller current accessory makers will be forced to close. It will also mean accessories will become more expensive across the board, as we're already seeing with the $20 cable that doesn't even include the wall plug.

This policy might be great for Apple's immediate bottom line, but, like other bean counter driven decisions made by Apple lately, this will eventually work to dissolve the cult status of Apple, and that will do far more harm to the bottom line than allowing a free market for accessories ever could.

3rd party accessory makers don't hurt Apple, they BOOST Apple. How Apple doesn't see this as plain as day is beyond me. They allow people to spend the bulk of their money with Apple, while allowing them to save a little on accessories. If every accessory maker pays a license fee to Apple, accessory prices are going to skyrocket, and the entire 3rd party Apple ecosystem will see a downturn, thereby shrinking Apple's reach as a brand entity. It would seem Apple no longer sees themselves holistically.

Apple under Steve Jobs seemed unstoppable. But every empire crumbles eventually, little by little. If Apple intends to keep churning out product at breakneck speed in the name of profit, continues to systematically lock down every aspect of their consumer's choices and experiences in the name of profit, and continues to disregard the previous ingredients of its cult status, then little by little, we are witnessing the dawn of Apple's eventual fall.

When it does happen, people will struggle to figure out why, because their demise will be made of so many little reasons, like changing the adapter to their biggest selling product to a proprietary licensed model.

Very well said.

Reminds me of Ashton-Tate, dBASE, and Ed Esber (the CEO who drove the company into the ground). If you haven't read the history of Ashton-Tate you should.

[Julius Caesar]

I'm pretty pissed that my iphone doesn't work over USB with my expensive 2012 model car. And guess what, I'm more likely to get rid of my phone because of the incompatibility rather than my car.

[Senseotech]

Originally Posted by Julius Caesar

I'm pretty pissed that my iphone doesn't work over USB with my expensive 2012 model car. And guess what, I'm more likely to get rid of my phone because of the incompatibility rather than my car.

My cheap 2003 car works just fine over USB, jus' sayin'

[Mr.C]

Originally Posted by ZipZap

I ordered 1 from three different sellers. So far only one cancelled because the seller said they would not be able to get stock until late november.

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Have always bough the knock-off with ZERO problems. Even one of my rMBP power adapters is a knock-off.

You do not speak from experience just speculation.

----------



What third party adapters....No one has them.

----------

Can someone point me to a site or article covering these custom chips?

I don't speak from personal experience but I also am not speculating either. I know of a number of people who have bought third party cables and adapters for various devices and have had problems of one kind or another. You may have not had any problems but that doesn't mean they don't occur and no one should by third party accessories especially cables and adapters unless they are licenced or approved by the manufacturer of the device itself. If they do they do so at their own risk.

[Gjwilly]

I've seen these preorders and almost every single one was using Apple's own images to advertise these products.
That right there could be the justification for Apple's actions and it might have nothing at all to do with unauthorized or untried products.
If you're going to be selling knockoff products you should at least be using pictures of the actual knockoffs and not of the genuine article.

[Hakkelaar]

Ok,

I can see that Apple has trademarks for the words "Apple" and "iPhone".

So don't put these words on your items.

Further, Apple had Designrights on the 'looks' of their products.

My question is, do they have Design-rights on the lightning-adapter?


On the other hand, if you already decided on buy an Apple device, you'd rather buy the official accessoires.

[AppleDeviceUser]

Why would you buy it on Ebay, those are cheap knockoffs that could damage your device, if you are going to buy an expensive iPad/iPhone/iPod at least buy the official adapter, it's not that expensive.

[MR Bulk]

Hmmm, OEM Lightning cable = $19

Non-warranty replacement of fried iPhone 5 (16GB) = $649

Peace of mind, along with the knowledge you are supporting the rightful phone company who has not changed their adapter design in years amounting to surely significant lost profits on accessories by non-Apple copycat makers = Priceless

[KoukiFC3S]

Originally Posted by MR Bulk

Hmmm, OEM Lightning cable = $19

Non-warranty replacement of fried iPhone 5 (16GB) = $649

Peace of mind, along with the knowledge you are supporting the rightful phone company who has not changed their adapter design in years amounting to surely significant lost profits on accessories by non-Apple copycat makers = Priceless

A non warranty exchange is $229.

[MR Bulk]

Originally Posted by KoukiFC3S

A non warranty exchange is $229.

True perhaps, I didn't think about that. But you have to agree that most would rather keep a working phone than exchange one, even for just $229, because you tried to save single-digit dollars on the price of a cable.

[ZipZap]

Originally Posted by MR Bulk

Hmmm, OEM Lightning cable = $19

Non-warranty replacement of fried iPhone 5 (16GB) = $649

Peace of mind, along with the knowledge you are supporting the rightful phone company who has not changed their adapter design in years amounting to surely significant lost profits on accessories by non-Apple copycat makers = Priceless

Been using the knock off and my stuff is not fried.